My Twisted Teenage Romance

Two days after my second endeavour with Jacob, Jason and I were at the mall. The day Jacob and I had gone to his mystery cliff, I had allowed the questions stirring in the back of my mind, like prisoners in solitary, some yard time, allowing myself to fret over the unknown answers. I found myself thinking about the last thing he'd said that night;

''l'll always be here to save my favourite damsel in distress.''

The words had thrust my heart into my throat, and now I found myself questioning them. Did he have other 'damsels in distress'? If he did, was I really his favourite? What did he mean by always? Was I reading too much into a casual witty comment? Was I being stupid by questioning all this in the first place? But the question to which the answer was almost undeniable, was I falling for my favourite night in shining armour? That question often distracted me from what was going on in the present.

I had told Jason and Jenny all about what happened, and asked the questions that pounded my brain. Jenny had said that if I wanted answers I should just ask him and that was the only way to know for sure. Jason on the other hand has told me just to go with the flow and stop being so damn questioning, and that answers would reveal themselves in time. Then Jenny hit him for sounding like a fortune cookie.

I decided that Jason was right, I should stop asking so many questions, but that doesn't mean I did. My need to know won the fight with my better judgement. Even here on a shopping trip with one of my best friends, the unanswered questions still darted in and out of my head, leaving me oblivious to what was going on.

''This one's nice, what d'you think?''

''Huh?'' I said. Jason was holding a perfume bottle for me to smell.

''Oh yea, it's good.'' I said after taking a quick whiff of the perfume. We were out shopping for Jenny's birthday; her and Jason had the same birthday, which was coincidentally in two weeks.

''You're thinking about him again aren't you?'' Jason more stated then asked.

''Nuh-uh.'' I lied, picking up a random bottle and smelling it.

''You're such a liar, I know that glazed over look.'' he said, putting the bottle back on the shelf.

''How do you know I wasn't thinking about what you were saying?'' I asked,

''Because, no one thinks that much about perfume.'' he said, raising his eyebrows and I sighed.

''So, this ones good.'' I said, changing the topic.

''I should probably just get her a CD.'' Jason said, taking the bottle from me and putting it back down on the shelf.

''I'm hungry.'' I said as we walked out of the store.

''You wanna go out for lunch?'' Jason asked eagerly.

''I would but my mom wanted me to vacuum and clean my room today.'' I said, adjusting the bags in my hand.

''You want me to take you home?'' Jason asked.

''No Jason I was hoping to walk four miles.'' I said sarcastically and he laughed.

We walked out to Jason's car and loaded our stuff into the back then got into the front.

''Here put this in.'' Jason said, handing me a burned CD.

''What is it?'' I asked as he pulled out of the parking spot.

''It's a CD what does it look like?'' he asked like I was an idiot.

I rolled my eyes and put the CD in, the first song was 'Devil in Lace' by Cauterize. Jason grinned and I turned it up loud, this was one of my favourite bands.
We drove back to my house in silence, unless you count the radio. When we pulled into my driveway, Michael was trimming the hedge that divided our yard from his and Jason was easily distracted.

''Watch out!'' I said as Jason almost drove into my garage.

''Sorry!'' he said after slamming on the brakes an almost giving me whiplash.

''Do you want me to help you get your stuff inside?'' he asked, not really looking at me but out the window at a very shirtless Michael.

''No I think I can manage, you'd better go before you drive through my garage.'' I laughed and Jason rolled his eyes playfully.

''Alright, I'll see you later.'' Jason said as I got out of the car.

He popped the trunk and I got my bags out and then waved as he pulled away. I walked up to the house and started to feel for my key, it was in my pocket earlier.

''Where is it!'' I whispered to myself as I reached the porch steps.

I started to rummage through my purse as I balanced three big bags on one arm and four on the other while trying to climb the steps, which was not the best idea. I felt myself start to fall and I started to grab for something, anything to stop me, but there was nothing to grab. An instinctive scream escaped my mouth as I kept falling and trying desperately not to land on the bags that had caused my fall in the first place.

''Whoa! Gotcha!'' I heard as I felt someone push me back up into an upright position. I turned around to see Michael and I breathed a sigh of relief.

''Thanks! I almost died!'' I laughed.

''No problem, you ok?'' he asked, making sure I was steady.

''Yea, I've fallen farther.'' I joked and he laughed.

''You want some help?'' he asked gesturing at my bags.

''Sure.'' I said, handing him the four bags off my right arm.

''Enough stuff?'' he asked and I stuck my tongue out at him.

I finally found my key and unlocked the door. I stepped inside and set my bags down, then took the bags Michael was holding and put them down. He was standing on the welcome mat and he wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his arm.

''Thanks, hey do you want a drink or something?'' I asked and he glanced over his shoulder to the half trimmed shrub between yards.

''I kinda have to finish that befo-'' he started.

''I'll bring it out to you and besides I owe you, I could have died.'' I said and he laughed.

''Alright, a bottle of water?''

''Sure, you go trim your hedge.'' I said and he smiled.

I walked inside, taking my bags further into the house and dropping them in the living room. I went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. I decided to cut through the front room on my way to the door. The front room had a huge picture window, which had a perfect view of the hedge Michael was trimming. He looked so concentrated on what he was doing, it made him scrunch up his face and he looked rather cute. Every time he snipped a piece of the hedge, his arms would flex, making his new tattoo tense and then relax.

I suddenly realized that I was twisting the cap on the bottle and with each twist little drops of water were spilling out and running down the side of the bottle. I cursed under my breath and went to get a new bottle then went outside, this time not stopping to look out the window.

''Here you go.'' I said as I held the bottle out for Michael to take.

''Thanks.'' he said, balancing his sheers on top of the hedge and then taking the water.

''So how long are your parents going to keep using you as their slave.'' I asked and he smiled.

''They said until they think I've 'learned my lesson. '' he said and then chugged half the bottle in one go.

''Yea cause time in prison, that's definitely not going to teach you.'' I said sarcastically and he laughed.

''That was my argument.'' he laughed, then drank the other half of the bottle.

''Jeeze, you don’t take your time at all.'' I said and he shrugged.

''Eat or have it stolen.'' he said, crushing the bottle.

''I thought it was 'eat or be eaten'. '' I said, taking the bottle from him.

''In the real world maybe.'' he said with a smile that was too innocent to have ever been to prison.

''Yea.'' I said, not really knowing what else to say.

''Well I'd better get back to this.'' he said, nodding towards the hedge.

''Yea, good luc-'' I was cut short when a terribly loud sneeze escaped me, causing me to stagger forward into the hedge, knocking Michael's sheers into the bush.

''Oh I'm sorry!'' I said as I brushed back a runaway strand of hair.

''No, it's ok I got them.'' he said, putting one arm into the bush.

He started to fish around, making his concentration face and I bit my lip in anticipation. He pushed his arm deeper into the bush and I felt bad for knocking them so far and then wondered how one sneeze could knock them that far down. Michael flinched ever so slightly and then started to pull his arm slowly out of the hedge.

''Found them.'' he said as his arm came all the way out.

''Oh my god Michael! Your arm!'' I said, covering my mouth. His arm was sliced open on the side of his forearm; the cut went almost from wrist to elbow.

''It's just a scratch calm down.'' he said, pulling a leaf out of the blood that already almost covered his arm.

''Michael you're going to bleed to death!'' I said, unable to pull my eyes away from his mangled arm.

''Calm down, I've had way worse.'' he said, grabbing the towel hanging out of his back pocket and wiping away some of the blood. He flinched as he pulled away another leaf and I half covered my eyes.

''Michael!'' I gasped. I'd never seen him actually hurt, but watching him tend to this huge cut on his arm made all my nerves twinge.

''Calm down!' he laughed, wrapping his arm in the small towel that was completely covered in blood already.

''How can you be so cheerful! If that was my arm I would have passed out!'' I said, wringing my hands.

''Then it's a good thing it's not your arm.'' he said and I couldn't help but laugh.

''That's not a good place to have a big cut like that Michael.'' I said as he adjusted the towel.

''You're right. You got your car back right? I think we'd better go to the emergency room'' he said and I nodded quickly.

''I'll go get my keys.'' I said and ran for the house.

I grabbed my keys off the table and ran out to the garage. I pushed the button to open the door and then got in and started my car. I pulled out onto the driveway and Michael was waiting.

''Get in.'' I said, unlocking the doors.

''Actually I was going to stand here for a bit.'' he said, opening the door and getting in.

I pulled out of the driveway and started going way over the speed limit down my street.

''You can slow down, I'm not going to die in the next five seconds.'' Michael said and I took a breath and slowed down a bit.

''You've already lost a lot of blood and I personally don't want to have to carry you into the emergency room.'' I said and he laughed.

We pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and into a spot that was relatively close to the emergency room door. I got out and then went around to open the door for Michael, who was struggling now with keeping the sopping towel in place.

''Come on! Come on! Come on!'' I said as I hurried him to the door.

We went inside and Michael sat down while I went to the counter.

''Uh hi my friend cut his arm open.'' I said and the nurse glanced behind me at Michael, who was now getting up and walking over.

''What did he cut it on?'' the nurse asked and I completely blanked.

''Garden sheers.'' Michael answered, now standing next to me.

''Used garden sheers?'' she asked.

''Yea.'' he said, fiddling with the towel.

''Alright, I'm Patty, wrap this over your arm and follow me.'' the nurse said, handing Michael a bigger towel and leading him down the hall into a room. I followed and helped Michael up onto the exam table.

The nurse took the towel off and examined Michael's cut. It looked deep and seeing it made me cringe, which made Michael laugh.

''All right, you're going to need stitches, a lot of them. Wait here.'' Patty said, putting the towel back over Michael's arm and then leaving.

''Cause you know, I was going to leave.'' Michael said quietly and I giggled.

''Here, he can't write so you're going to have to fill this out.'' Patty said, stepping into the room, handing me a clipboard and then leaving again.

''Ahem, name?'' I asked very formally and Michael laughed.

''Michael Reid.''

''Birthday?'' I asked.

''May 22nd 1990.'' he answered and I remembered that he was only a year older than me, which put in perspective how young he was when he went to jail.

''Gender?'' I asked and he rolled his eyes.

After twenty or so more questions, the sheet was completely filled out and Patty had come back. She took the clipboard, looked it over and then smiled.

''Everything looks in order. Now we're going to have to flush the cut because of how you cut it and then we can stitch you up.'' Patty said with a smile.

Patty took both towels off Michaels arm and he flinched a little. Him arm was covered in blood and I had to look away, blood was not my thing.

''If you're not good with blood you might not want to stay for this part.'' Patty said.

''But I can come back right?'' I asked and she smiled and nodded.

''You gonna be alright without me?'' I asked and Michael smiled.

''I think I'll survive.'' he said and I laughed.

I sat in the waiting room for a while as they flushed Michaels cut. There were parents with little kids who had broken limbs, a middle aged woman in a wheelchair talking to a doctor and a old man with his hand wrapped in gauze. The kids were playing like nothing was wrong and it made me wish I was that tough, I couldn't even stay in the same room while they flushed my friends cut.

''Miss? You can come back now.'' Patty said from the door of the room Michael was in.

I got up and went back into the room. Michael was talking to the doctor while he got the stuff ready to do his stitches. He had everything laid out on a tray and he picked up a rather large needle.

''Now I'm going to inject this right into your cut to freeze it so that I can do your stitches.'' the doctor said, squeezing a bit of fluid out of the needle.

''Right in there?'' I asked nervously.

''One shot hurts less than all the stitches.'' the doctor said as he put one hand under Michaels arm.

''Oh god I can't watch.'' I said, covering my eyes with one hand.

''Calm down Nikki, it's not even your arm.'' Michael laughed.

''So?'' I said, turning and looking at him through my fingers.

''Would it make you feel better to hold my hand?'' he asked and I held my hand out. He smiled and took a tight hold on my hand.

''Is everyone ready now?'' the doctor asked and I laughed a bit.

''One, two, three.'' he said and put the needle into Michaels arm. I quickly spun the other way, not looking and I felt Michael squeeze my hand a bit.

''So uh how many stitches does he need?'' I asked, still not looking.

''About forty-five, you could be here for a while.'' the doctor said.

''Why don't you sit down.'' Michael said and I sighed and sat in a chair next to the table, still not looking.

''It really doesn't look that bad Nikki, and I can't even feel anything.'' he said.

''That’s what the needle was for Michael.'' I said, rolling my eyes even though he couldn't see.

''You could look at me you know,'' he said ''just don't look at my arm.''

''Um, it's kind of attached in case you hadn’t noticed.'' I said and he laughed.

''So just look up here.'' he said, letting go of my hand and turning my face around to his by my chin but I closed my eyes.

''Aw come on, let's see those eyes.'' he said and I shook my head.

''Please? I need something to distract me from the horrible pain in my arm.'' he said and I opened my eyes and stared at him.

''You said it didn’t hurt!'' I protested.

''It got your eyes open though.'' he said with a grin and I stuck my tongue out at him.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Michael's arm, half stitched up and half split open. I cringed slightly and Michael took my hand again.

''Don't look at it.'' he said and I put my free hand up to block it from my view.

''That's better.'' I said.

''What're your parents going to think when they find out what happened?'' I asked and Michael shrugged slightly.

''Ban me from using the sheers?'' he suggested and I laughed.

''So what else have they got you doing? Other then yard work?'' I asked, trying to distract myself from what was going on.

''You know our basement?'' he asked and I nodded. Their basement looked like a war zone, it was almost impossible to walk down there.

''Well when I'm finished, it's supposed to look like an actual room.'' he said and I laughed.

It went silent for a minute as Michael looked over at his arm and I dared to move my hand.

''So how's your boyfriend?'' Michael suddenly asked and I furrowed my eyebrows at him.